U.S. Probes Shooting Deaths Of 6 Sea Lions Off Washington Coast

Federal officials are investigating the shooting deaths of six sea lions along the Washington state coast in what experts suspect is a plot by fishermen to eliminate competition for fish. A seventh animal was found decapitated.

All the deaths are being investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries. It’s illegal to kill or harm sea lions, which are protected by federal law and penalties that include up to a year’s imprisonment and a $25,000 fine.

“We are concerned about a number of recent reports of marine mammal deaths caused by gunshots in the greater Seattle area,“ Greg Busch, assistant director of law enforcement at NOAA Fisheries, said in a statement. “All marine mammals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.”

The number of sea lions shot is six times the annual average for this time of year, according to Seal Sitters. Attacks typically rise in December, January and February.

“Sadly, this is just the beginning of what is likely to be a very deadly fall/winter season for sea lions and seals,” Robin Lindsey wrote online in the Seal Sitters Blubber Blog. “Animals searching for food to survive and fishermen searching our fish for consumption or livelihood are on an annual, never-ending collision course.”